Roundabout for playgrounds.



D. L. NEWCOMB. ROUNDABOUT FOR PLAYGROUNDS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 23, 191 s 1,108,080, Patented Aug. 18, 1914.

WWI}? M v "A mlzzesses fnVcntor g (5 ,9 2 12/4140 JVEWUOMB flttorney UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DAVIDv L. NEWCOMB, OF SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF T JOHN LAWRENCE, OF SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA.

ROUNDABOUT FOR PLAYGR-OUNDS.

To all'wkoml-it may concern:

Be known that I, DAVID L. NEwooMB, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of San Diego, in the'county of San Diego and State of'California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Roundabouts for Playgrounds, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to round-abouts which are propelled manually and which are particularly adapted for playgrounds for children and the objects of my invention are, first, toprovide a device of this class which will provide entertainment and exercise for the operators; second, to provide a device of this class which is simple and economical of construction and easy to operate;

third, to provide a device of this class in which the danger of accident is minimized; fourth, to provide a device of this class which operates on land similar to the rowing of a boat, and, fifth, to provide anew and novel means of manually operating a round-about. lVith these and other objects in view as will hereinafter appear, my invention con sists of certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as .will be hereinafter described in detail and particularly set forth in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and tow the characters of reference thereon, which form a part of this specification, in which;

Figure l is a top or plan view of the device complete, Fig. 2 1s a sectional view through A-B of Fig. 1, andFig. 3 is a detailed perspective view of the engaging portion of the operating lever, and one of its engaging elements.

Similar characters of reference refer to similar parts'throughout the several views.

The central support 1, center post 2, diagonal braces 3, horizontal supports 4, bearing 5, bearing 6, boats 7, hanger rods 8, levers 9, connecting rods 10, engaging feet 11, and sand box 12, constitute the princi pal parts of my structure.

The support 1, together with thebottom of the sand box 12, provides a base and support for the structure. Revolubly and vertically mounted in this support is the center post 2, and mounted; on the support 1 Specification of Letters Patent... Patented A 18 1914 Application filed October 23, 1913.

Serial No. 796,838. 3 7

.central post 2 is the bearing 5. These boardesired. In these sockets are rigidly mounted the inner ends of the horizontal arn1s'4 which extend horizontally thedesired distance. These horizontal arms are supported near their outer ends by means of the diagonal braces 3 which are mounted in sockets 6 ion the bearing 6 at one of their ends and at their other ends in the sockets 4, which are rigidly secured near the extended ends of the arms 4. These arms 4 are connected Ftogether at their outer ends by means of braces 13 which forms a rigid connection for the arms at their outer ends. Mounted .in the outer end of each of the horizontal arms 4 is a vertical rod 8 which extends vertically downward, and upon the lower ends are mounted supports 14. Upon each of these supports 14, centrally between two adjacent horizontal arms, is a boat shaped carriage 7. This may be any shape desired, but is preferably boat-shaped as shown. Mounted on the'inner edge of each of the boats is a lever support 7 shaped as shown best in Figs. 1 and 2, which is adapted to support the lever 9 and also limit its movement so that the levers in the various boats will not interfere with each other. Mounted on the inner ends of the levers 9 are conf necting rods 10 upon which are mounted the engaging feet 11. Around the support 1 is an annular trough 12 which is partially filled with sand with which the engaging feet 11 contact, forming a means for moving the boats similar to the action of oars in the water. The lower surface of this trough is, however, provided with a notched or corrugated surface so that if the sand does not hold sufficiently the foot will engage with the notches and thus provide a good and sufficient means of moving the boats around by the action of the levers 9; the action being practically the same as rowing a boat.

' Though I have shown and described a particular construction, combination and arrangement of parts, I do not wish to be limited to this particular construction, combination and arrangement, but desire to inelude in the purview of my invention the construction, combination and arrangement substantially as set forth in the appended claims.

It is obvious that with this construction there is provided a manually operated rounilabout which will provide exercise for children 0 adults, that is entertaining; that it is economical. of construction and easily op; erated; that the results are similar to that ofrowing a boat in the water; that when the oars are not being operated the feet 11 smooth the top surface of the sand; that when the round-about is going at a good veloeity the oars may be stopped and the round-about will continue without being re tar'ded to any extent; that the sand in the trough and the engaging feet are the principal motive element; that the notches in the bottom of the same are only secondary,

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Let ters Patent, is:

l". A roundabout comprising a. rotatable :trame, carriages suspended therefrom, a trough of sand, and levers provided with feet adapted to engage with said sand, whereby said frame is rotated manually.

,2. A round-about tor playgrounds comprising a rotatable frame, carriages suspendedv therefrom, an annular trough of sand, and levers provided with feet adapted to engage with said sand, whereby said frame is rotated manually by a rowing motion.

3. A round-about comprising a base consisting of a bearing and an annular sand tii'ough surrounding the same, a t 'ame revolubly mounted in said bearing, a plurality 40 of boats suspended from said frame, sand in said annular trough, and. means pivotally mounted on one edge of each of said boats engaging with the sand in said trough,

, whereby said frame is revolved by a rowing motion.

4:. A round-about comprising a base consisting of a bearing and an annular sand trough surrounding the same, a frame revoluhly mounted in said bearing, a plurality of boats suspended from said frame, sand in said annular trough, means pivotally mounted on one edge of each of said boats engaging with the sand in said trough, whereby a rowing motion is produced and said frame revolved, and a plurality of ,nctcnes in the bottom of said trough adapted to facilitate the engagement of said means. H

la a roundabout for play-grounds, the cmnhination of an annular box of sand, a plurality of boats mounted so as to revolve around said box, and means mounted on rach oil. said boats adapted to engage with said sand and when operated manually from said boats revolve the same.

(3. A round-about for play-grounds com prising a central support or bearing, a central post vertically and revolubly mounted therein, a pliuiality of horizontal arms mounted on the upper ends of said post, braces extending from near the lower ends of said posts to near the outer extended ends of said arms, a rod suspended from the outer 'end of each arm, supports mounted on the lower ends thereof, carriages mounted on said supports, a sand trough surrounding said first mentioned support or lase, a lever pivotally mounted on each of said boats, means "for engaging with the sand mounted on the inner ends of each of said levers, whereby a rowing motion produced by the operation of said levers and said carriages revolved. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

DAVID L. NEVJCOlt [B Witnesses ABRAM B. BOWMAN, JOHN Lawrence.

Copies of this patent may be obtained. for five cents each, by addressing the Gommissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

